Trickle
by Stewie2kill
Summary: YAOI! InuXMiro. Continuation Story from Time. When Time is no longer an issue, when love is infinite, and when everything rests upon the decision of two lovers, what will unfold? Will the hearts of both men be found? Or will they abandon everything?
1. Forever in the Making

Thanks for being patient, is being released as I write it, therefore no dedicated schedule will be made for releases. Leave a smiley face or something for a review to let me know if you hate it, like it, or just to say hi, I always love hearing from y'all. And now, Without further adieu, I now present to you the first chapter in the 3rd installment of my 'Truths' Series - 'Trickle'.

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-Trickle-

-By Stewie2kill

CHAPTER ONE

"Forever in the Making"

Stars were shining brilliantly through the trees as hanyou eyes were set upon the moon. _What a grand trip it had been shaping up to be_, the hanyou thought as he stared towards the sky above him. Only three days had passed since he and his partner had been cast into an alternate reality, and already he was feeling a sense of separation that he had never seemed to feel before.

Miroku, as he was called, had very little to say lately, and the monk's sparkling violet eyes gave him a sense of hope and reason unlike any other that the hanyou had felt before. Inuyasha, as he was named, felt separated by the wordless nights. He needed to be alone with the other man but not in such a way that they would expose themselves to the group that they were traveling with. Of course it really wouldn't have mattered that much in the first place since the group wasn't really real, but Inuyasha just felt it best if they tried to keep a semi-agreeable atmosphere amongst everyone.

Inuyasha had taken to staring at the moon again, which was common even for an alternate reality. He was definitely not looking forward to having to go back and deal with the real Kagome and Sango though, seeing as how neither of them had reacted to the his love for the monk very well, quite poorly in case and point but nevertheless in such a way that it made it almost impossible for them to resume any sort of normal life again.

A soft breeze blew pleasantly across his face and he closed his eyes and lifted his nose to the air, inhaling deeply the soft scent of damp earth and pine trees. He and Miroku had to find the orb that held both of their hearts, but how in the world was he supposed to work with someone he couldn't ever talk to alone?

"Inuyasha?"

There was a loud thud as Inuyasha fell out of the tree he was perched in.

"What the hell monk?!" Inuyasha spouted as rebounded like a rubber ball from the earths surface, coming face to face with the very man he had been needing to talk to for several days.

"SHHHH" Miroku sounded as he smiled and motioned behind him.

Even though the camp site where their group was staying was a ways away, Inuyasha had a bad habit of being extremely loud, and more than capable of waking the rest of their traveling partners and ruining the opportunity for a quiet and private talk with Miroku.

"Right... uhhh... sorry." Inuyasha said as he looked around him and then back towards Miroku.

"It's understandable." Miroku chuckled as he averted his eyes slightly, an awkward silence falling upon both of them.

There was a long and extremely unstable pause as the two waited for one another to initiate a conversation.

"How have you-" They both started to say before stopping, catching each-others eyes and then laughing hard.

"Oh boy," Miroku said as he finished laughing and then looked to the hanyou, "Three days and my speech is already slurring."

"I know what you mean." Inuyasha said as he chuckled a bit more and then sat down, motioning for the monk to do the same.

There was another long pause as both men simply basked in the sheer pleasantness of having one another being so close.

"I've been thinking." Miroku said as he looked to the stars above.

"Yea?" Inuyasha said lazily, his head turning to meet that of the monks.

"We have a long time here; a very long time here..."

Miroku turned his head to face Inuyasha's whose eyes seemed to reflect an inner nod of some sort. Miroku smiled at the hanyou's face which seemed to turn allot more innocent and happy every time he had any alone time together with him. There was a small breeze as Miroku gave in to the energy in the air and slowly the two men locked lips, the familiar and binding shiver and tingle immobilizing them and giving them strength at the same time.

They parted before to long though and Inuyasha looked back at Miroku, a renewed look in his eyes.

"Almost forever..." Inuyasha laughed as he turned to face the stars.

Miroku nodded and laid his head in Inuyasha's lap, staring at the stars and moon through occasionally free-flowing silver strands of hair.

"Almost forver..."

'But not quite enough...'

--T--


	2. Circulate

A/N: Second Chapter. Thanks to those of you who left comments. I do get them and I do really appreciate them, as I've said before, they let me know that people do read my stuff, which is hard to determine on without comments. This chapter contains some sexual content, which some people have been asking for. Nothing explicit, rather romantic in my opinion, but nevertheless sexual. Don't read it if you're not supposed to or get offended by it...

And now, onto chapter 2, entitled simply - "Circulate". You'll see why.

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CHAPTER TWO

"Circulate"

The next few days passed by with a slow daunting feeling as the group pressed on in search of jewel shards, which was easier since Naraku was dead in the alternate reality as well – something Inuyasha was extremely grateful for. Recently, however, It had become increasingly harder for Inuyasha to separate reality from fiction though, and as the days passed by he found himself actually beginning to find that the bad memories of the place they had come from were slowly disappearing. The looks on Kagome and Sango's faces when they were whisked away were slowly melting and fading with the ever growing feeling of ease that seemed to surround him now.

Inuyasha wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, especially since the fate of the universe apparently rested upon his shoulders, which seemed to make it all the more fairy-tale like, rather than anything 'realistically possible', which was what he needed to take anything into action.

He was currently staring into a cup of ramen that Kagome had handed him and the moonlight was reflecting off of the steam particles which were illuminated only slightly by the flickering flames of the fire in front of him. He reached forward and grabbed the cup off of the log it was perched on and took a sip out of it before looking to see where Miroku had gone. They were stopped near a lake and the night was hot so he was fairly sure that the monk had gone to seek refuge in the water, at least that's what he would have done.

"Anything wrong Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as she eyes Inuyasha with curiosity.

"Nahh,"Inuyasha said as he blew off some of the steam from his noodles and began to gulp them down.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled causing Inuyasha to look up at her with a curious gaze.

"What?" he asked, noodles dangling from his mouth as his eyes looked on in curiosity to see what the problem was.

"You're supposed to use some chopsticks or something." She said in an annoyed tone while she reached for a pair of chopsticks.

"No need, I'm done." Inuyasha said as he finished the last of the noodles and placed it in the special 'trash' bag that had also been provided by Kagome. Apparently no trash was to be left behind as it could 'dangerously' alter the past. He had asked once what the bag was made out of and she told him it was something called 'plastic'. All he knew though was that if you put it over your head and breathed in and out you got a 'floaty feeling', something he had been 'sat' for frequently.

There was a hefty huff from behind him as he headed off into the woods to what Kagome could only guess was where he usually went, which was in a tree. Any other time she might have been right too, but Inuyasha had some different plans as most everyone was getting ready to go to bed and the monk was still nowhere to be found.

He walked for a little while until he reached the lake and his eyes caught Miroku who was leaning up against a rock, half his body immersed in water and completely naked. His violet eyes were locked on the moon and only halfway blocked by strands of wet hair dangling in his face.

Inuyasha wasn't one for calling things 'hot' or 'sexy' because the idea of sounding like a middle aged house wife or someone remotely like someone Kagome would hang out with never really appealed to him, however he did like to call things pretty, and that was definitely what he did as he hopped over to the rock and received a smile from the monk in the process. Inuyasha sat down on the top of the rock and dangled his leg off of the side while staring at the moon.

Being near the monk was something he always enjoyed, but even more-so now that things were 'back-to-normal'; at least for the time being. He had secretly been hoping that maybe he could somehow make this stay permanent and that he could make it last forever, but he was at a loss for how exactly to do that. He also felt a slight twinge of guilt at the thought of leaving Kagome and the others behind and 'supposedly' collapsing that reality.

He had no idea how long he had spent at the top of the rock with his eyes fixed upon the same moon as the monk's, but at some point in time he must have decided to get up and hop down off of the top of the rock and remove his own clothing in order to bathe and cool off.

He slid down into the water beside the monk and shot a glance towards Miroku, receiving a smile before they both went back into the moon-gazing trance. After a while though the silence was broken, not by him, but by Miroku.

.

"Inuyasha..."

Inuyasha's eyes were averted downward to the water's surface which reflected the moon and trees.

"Yea?"

"Where do you think our hearts are?"

Inuyasha paused and tried to remember where he had seen the red orb last.

"No clue..." He said as he turned his head to face into the deep violet eyes.

"I was afraid of that." Miroku laughed.

Inuyasha moved a little closer to the monk and laid his silver-haired head onto his shoulder before speaking again.

"If I had to guess it'd be in Naraku's castle ruins though."

"Why's that?" Miroku asked

"Because that's the last place I remembered ever seeing it." Inuyasha replied looking up into the monk's eyes.

There was the same haunting feeling that was always present before a kiss was honored and it hovered between them as they stared into each-other, turning time into a mere side-effect of life - or so it seemed to the two at that particular moment in time.

Inuyasha tilted his body to the side and fit his hips onto the monks before dipping his head down. He wasn't in the mood to talk about it just yet, and the monk was inclined to agree as he tilted his own head upward and locked lips with the hanyou. A shiver was sent down both men's spines and ignited something akin to passion inside of each of them.

Inuyasha trailed his hands over the monk's shoulder's and back and let them play a little over the monk's body. Ultimately he got bored though and allowed them to find the monk's familiar member and with a few pulses he gained its attention. There were a few moans from his partner which satisfied the hanyou enough to stop and allow some reciprocation from the monk which was almost like a copycat of his own actions. Trailing some much needed re-exploration before some familiar and satisfactory results were achieved.

This continued on for a bit and Inuyasha enjoyed it for a while before becoming annoyed at the feeling of being denied something, and he found the opportunity he was looking for when Miroku re-positioned himself on the rock, locking his hips over the monk's and connecting with him causing both of them to moan a bit louder than they had intended to. Inuyasha focused his eyes on the monks before moving again, maintaining eye contact and moving down the monk's chest with a few fluttering kisses every now and then.

Inuyasha had often asked himself before why he had never really enjoyed a woman's presence before, and he found it odd but understandable only when he was connecting with the monk in a way like he was currently. It was usually because Miroku shared something with him, -some hardship, feeling, or energy signature- but it felt similar and familiar instead of strange and unusual which was usually the case between him and women.

The trickling of water turned into waves as their actions became more pronounced. Inuyasha's body cascading over the monk's with accurately timed waves and pulses. There was a few more moans from the monk and slowly waves turned into splashes as the two men's moves became more sudden and more effort was put into the act. Inuyasha bit his lip and looked down to Miroku who's mouth was open and his eyes half lidded. Then, suddenly, the water stopped moving, and Miroku sighed loudly in unison with the hanyou, who placed his lips one final time upon the monks allowing his emotions and the monk's emotions to circle back and forth.

Inuyasha pulled away from the kiss, and laughed as Miroku smiled.

"Tomorrow." Inuyasha said as he looked down into Miroku's eyes, feeling the worry that their assignment seemed to be creating inside of the monk. "We'll definitely start looking for it tomorrow, okay?"

Miroku smiled nodded as he looked at the moon and then back to Inuyasha who smiled again and slowly lifted himself off of the monk with a small moan as they separated. Of all of the things in time Inuyasha had ever really taken the time to cherish and memorize, it was usually the small moment's like these that he really seemed to be fixated on. He often wondered why it was that he found it easier to find emotion in the smaller things of life than that of the larger things, but he usually came up blank like he was at this particular point in time and gave up.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder as he slid on his pants.

"You coming?" he asked Miroku as he slipped his kimono back on.

"Yea..." Miroku said as he lifted himself out of the water, a few drops of water trickling down on the water's surface, breaking the surface tension.

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha turned again to face the monk who stood naked, his eyes fixed on the moon.

"Yea?"

Miroku shook his head and chuckled before turning and walking to the bank to dawn his own garments.

"It's nothing. Forget it."

Inuyasha nodded and smiled, his ears twitching in a cool and satisfying breeze.

"Forgotten..."

And with that they set off, back to camp and to some much needed sleep, leaving behind only the trickle of water and the soft breeze which seemed to whisper, 'almost forever... but not quite enough...'

--T--


	3. Drops of Blood and Sunshine

A/N: Writers Block, Drowned 250 Cell Phones, and Spiritual Fun stuff have recently gotten in the way of inspiration to continue writing this thing but as I promised on my website last night I devoted a night to trying to make it up to you guys, and I will only try to make more for everyone as the night continues on. This was written in a 'filler' fashion but contains a key part to the storyline so enjoy and review if you can because I always love hearing from everyone. :3

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CHAPTER THREE

"Drops of Blood and Sunshine"

Morning came all to quickly for Inuyasha. He had fallen asleep and woken up to think and muse at the moon and stars the whole night. Inuyasha was no stranger to sleep deprivation though so when morning came without warning he was able to shake off another night of restless sleep fairly well.

"Good morning sleepy head" Kagome smiled as she saw Inuyasha stretching and yawning.

"Ahh, good morning Kagome" Inuyasha replied, eying the pan in her hand which usually meant food. "What's for breakfast?"

"Fish and Eggs." Kagome said bending over a fire giving site to an approaching monk who smiled gently towards Inuyasha who returned the favor. The whole night he had been awake thinking about where they should even look for the orb and he had only come up with a few places and none of them were very likely.

"Morning Inuyasha." Miroku smiled as he jingled his way to the campfire where Shippou and Sango were already sitting.

Inuyasha smiled and flashed his eyes in a way that told the monk everything he needed to hear. It was something that seemed to be a custom trait for the hanyou, Miroku thought as he felt the familiar breath being swept away by the look.

Inuyasha joined the circle to eat breakfast which didn't take long to finish. The whole while Inuyasha and Miroku shot glances back towards each other trying to communicate which way they should go which was pretty much completely a loss of time so it wasn't any surprise that they both tried their hardest to eat as fast as they could.

Inuyasha finally finished though, and when he did he shot a glance towards Miroku and lifted himself up off of the ground and walked towards a the forest edge. Miroku smiled and finished his own food and slowly got up and followed him leaving the two girls and small kitsune behind to wonder what had just happened.

Inuyasha was waiting for the monk by the edge of the lake they had sat at the previous night, a cool breeze blowing his hair.

"Any Ideas Inuyasha?" Miroku said as he approached the hanyou from the forest.

Inuyasha sighed and shook his head before turning.

"The last place I remember it being is in Naraku's castle, but I have no idea where that is in relevance to where we are now."

Miroku stood beside Inuyasha and looked out across the crystal clear water, eying the occasional fish swimming past.

"We could go back to Kaede's village and go from there." Miroku suggested.

Inuyasha sighed and cracked his neck before yawning.

"Best plan we have right now, so I guess we'll do that." Inuyasha said turning to Miroku. "Did you sleep well?"

Miroku smiled and and walked past Inuyasha patting him on the shoulder as he passed.

"I slept fine but you have a bit to learn about sex."

Inuyasha fell to the ground in a similar manner to when he was being told to 'sit'.

"What?!"

Miroku chuckled and bent over looking at the annoyed expression on the hanyou's face.

"Perhaps I'll show you a trick one of these days."

Inuyasha felt his face get a a bit hot but smiled innocently enough.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Miroku," He mocked "I was only wanting to know if you slept well."

Miroku chuckled and started walking in the opposite direction.

"TO KAEDE'S!" He shouted pointing in the direction they had come from.

Inuyasha smiled lazily and looked up at the sky. It was almost like he was forgetting ever having another life. He liked the way it felt to not have to worry about anything and chuckled a bit as he lifted himself off of the ground. It was beginning to become quite difficult to fight the urge to simply blow off their whole mission and simply adopt this life as their own.

Inuyasha walked a few steps in the direction Miroku had gone but he hadn't gotten very far before there was a sharp pain in his head that brought him right back down.

_'Petty half demons never win a fight they enter...'_

_  
_Inuyasha opened his eyes wide to find himself staring into the eyes of someone he had never met. He had long black hair with red streaks and bore armor that reminded him of his brother Sesshomaru. It wasn't the clothing that scared Inuyasha though, it was the eyes and the feeling behind them. The eyes were black with white and green flecks in them and the feeling was more malicious than anything he had ever seen before.

_'__Awwww, what's wrong? Puppy scared?'_

Inuyasha felt the sharp pain in his head pulsate and grow stronger.

'_You should have never come here, you should have died... but no, you just had to fix this. Well I'll show you fixed."_

The man raised his hand to reveal a blood soaked bandage that was still dripping slightly, the scent overpowering Inuyasha's sensitive nose.

_'My name is Chi, the Blood controlling demon.'_

Inuyasha watched the bandage undo itself and Inuyasha screamed in pain as he felt his head explode with pain and anguish.

_'See You In Hell Inuyasha'_

_forever is never enough..._


	4. Twilight Touch

/N: Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter for those of you who did and thanks for the continuous favoriting on both me and my stories, it means allot to me. As promised here's the next chapter. I got my writers block outta the way for today and found some old inspiration resurfacing with my yearly return trip to a spot that gives me allot of romantic insight. Anywho this is one of 2 chapters I'll be posting tonight and the 3rd one is being worked on and should be posted within a week. Enjoy, and do review if you can as it makes me happy to know people are reading and without those reviews I have no idea who is and who isn't listening.

CHAPTER FOUR

"Twilight Touch"

Inuyasha's eyes flashed open and were immediately shut again due to a strong light entering his eyes from above. He rubbed his face and tried to pull himself off of the ground while cracking his eyes which were now very sensitive due to the extreme pain that had just been put through. His head ached a bit and his neck was very sore, and he felt very fatigued all of a sudden as he tried to stand.

How long had he been out? He was trying to figure this out when he heard Miroku's voice from out of the wood's.

"You coming?" He shouted.

"Y-Yeah." Inuyasha replied as he staggered a bit towards the edge of the woods and the monk.

His head was still pounding from the searing pain that had crossed his eyes and he felt sore all over so it was no surprise that when he staggered a bit Miroku noticed and became a little worried.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he came towards the hanyou.

"I'm fine." Inuyasha said as he gritted his teeth and tried to shake away the pain.

"You don't look fine." Miroku replied as he looked the hanyou up and down.

"I'm fine." Inuyasha repeated, digging his claws into his palms to try and ease the pain in his head.

Miroku looked down and watched blood flowing from his partners hands and proceeded to sigh. He was used to Inuyasha doing this, never telling him anything. Miroku always figured it was something that he did to try and keep him from hurting anyone else, no matter how stupid that sounded it was something he had tried to live with when he got involved with the hanyou.

The monk sighed again and stepped forward, locking lips with the other man. Instantly, like a flash, he felt the connection being made and was able to feel what Inuyasha felt. It was always something that he and the other man shared, something deep enough to let them both know that they were truly meant for each other.

Inuyasha felt the familiar thud of his heart and his head felt like a switch had suddenly been flipped. He was suddenly fine, and the soreness and everything disappeared with the kissing. He was surprised by the sudden disappearance of the negative feelings and emotions but at the same time, not so much. This was not the first time a kiss from the monk had changed pain into bliss, and he was definitely not going to fight against something that was making such a huge difference. Pain melded into joy and pure ecstacy as he kissed back, allowing his heart to burst forth into the kiss and enjoying the feeling before it ended.

Eventually Miroku pulled away and smiled a little bit

"Fine? Sure. You're definitely fine." He said as he eyed the hanyou suspiciously with an evil grin.

"Miroku I-" Inuyasha started but was cut off as the monk interrupted.

"Save it. I'll hear later but right now we need to get going or the others might find it slightly odd that we're off together for so long."

There was a pause as Inuyasha was going to question the activity of leaving at that moment in time but he suddenly had a flashback to the faces of Kagome and Sango when they were together in Saniichi's hut and he thought twice, hesitated, and then nodded before following the monk out of the woods. He snook a glance at the spot behind him which looked exactly as crystal clear and calming as it had when he had arrived.

_What was that thing?_ He wondered as he turned his head back to the path and continued on to their campsite. There was no doubt in his mind that the event was real and _had_ actually taken place instead of being a dream but it all felt as though it had been too quick to be real so he had to wonder a bit.

Inuyasha's eyes looked down to his hands which were bleeding somewhat freely now where he had dug his claws into them. His other concern was the feeling behind those eyes. He shuddered at the thoughts that flashed into his mind. Whatever 'it' had been 'it' had called itself 'Chi' and he knew that Chi meant 'Blood'. Blood and Inuyasha never really mixed very well because of it's strong scent. Consequently, Inuyasha was not only annoyed at the thought of having a new enemy to face while they were on a journey, but also freaked out at the possibility of them having to face someone who might have 'Blood' as his main weapon, priority, or advantage.

Whatever the case it was extremely scary for him to get involved in anything that might wind up getting him killed, and by what he gathered from the feeling behind the eyes he saw, he might very well wind up getting killed if he didn't try to avoid contact with this individual.

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha was suddenly jerked from his very intense state of thinking and he looked up to find Miroku staring back at him with a puzzled expression on his face.

"What?" Inuyasha replied.

Miroku looked back worriedly.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" He asked as he looked at the hanyou, who had a strange look on his face.

Inuyasha sighed and walked out ahead of the monk on down the path.

"I'll tell you about it later." He replied as he broke the edge of the woods not too far ahead and joined the awaiting group.

Miroku shrugged a little bit sighed as well before following suit. At least he'd get told something later on which was more than he could say for what usually happened when Inuyasha had something troubling him. Generally he'd just get told that it was nothing until it was too late, much like the reason they were here in the first place.

When they got back to the camp they found that everything was packed and ready for them to depart which made Inuyasha happy as he was always in a little bit of a hurry to get somewhere, even when they were never quite sure where they were going in the first place. It was then, somewhat out of character though for Inuyasha to be walking at a steady pace not to far ahead of them without making and sort of scoffs or growls when they stopped for a moment.

Consequently, when Miroku found the chance to catch up and walk with Inuyasha a bit farther out than they had been staying he did so.

"What's up with you?" he asked, shooting a glance behind them to make sure they were out of ear shot of their traveling companions who were oblivious to their relationship.

Inuyasha cracked his neck and pounded his left shoulder with his fist.

"Whatta ya mean?" he asked, shooting the monk a puzzled glance.

"I mean what's wrong?" Miroku asked, staring back blankly. "You're acting unusual."

Inuyasha stopped pounding his shoulder and looked over towards the monk with a look of curiosity.

"Am I?" he asked, blinking a bit and trying to throw off the monk.

It had been a while since they were able to flirt openly, and having the opportunity to do so in front of the girls was enticing and gave him a much needed sense of familiarity; something he had been lacking.

Miroku smirked at the hanyou's comment and behavior, trying to mask his worried feeling with the newfound tingly sensation in his stomach. He too had been missing the older days when they were exclusive and not known by their comrades. He yawned and looked out ahead.

"We're not making it tonight." He said pretty bluntly

"I know." Inuyasha said as he looked towards the same direction, the sun starting to dip towards the horizon.

He had figured that they wouldn't be able to get to the village before sun-down that night, even though he had little of a clue as to where they were and was a bit hesitant to ask as it might make him look a bit odd. He was about to say something else though before something came over him and he stopped dead in his tracks, halting the entire operation and prompting some questions from the group behind.

"Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, looking over towards Inuyasha's face.

Inuyasha felt his heart skip a beat and felt something deep inside of him react as he stared at the land ahead of them. He shuddered and felt the breath leave his body before nearly falling to the ground.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku bent over quickly and caught the hanyou in mid air, and lowered him into a crouching position, staring at him. "What's wrong?"

"Inuyasha?!" Kagome screamed, rushing towards them.

"Stay back!" Miroku yelled, stopping the Girl in her tracks.

"It's here." Inuyasha muttered as his nose burned and he felt what tears form for no inexplicable reason.

"The Orb?" Miroku asked in a muffled whisper trying to keep the others from hearing.

Inuyasha shook his head and clutched a hand to his forehead.

"Something different; better." he said as he got up and started running towards the horizon where there was a clearing.

Miroku followed suite, chasing after the hanyou as best he could and leaving their companions stunned.

"Miroku?!" Sango yelled as she hopped on Kirara who had transformed in a giant blaze to a humongous flying cat.

"Continue till sunset and camp!" he shouted behind him. "We'll find you!"

Sango looked worried and almost resisted but decided not to follow them. As they disappeared over the horizon she hopped off of Kirara and looked to Kagome who was completely in shock by now.

"What just happened?" she asked, quite shaken by the incident.

"I'm not sure, but we should definitely do as they say and carry on." She said pursing her lips and staring at the spot ahead where the monk's figure had disappeared.

She had always had a thing for the monk so for him to run off on his own after something that had no clue to was quite disturbing, and worried her greatly. Her affection with the monk was not something she had ever really thought about too much but she still felt for him and anytime something happened to him she responded quickly and fiercely.

Kagome nodded and started walking ahead, moving the remaining group ahead. She was almost so absorbed in thought and worry to miss the sound of running water on her left side. She loved the water here and it was extremely peaceful to have it trickling away.

Soon they emerged from the trees and saw before them a giant field with a peculiar group of trees clustered on the right.

"Wow." she remarked as she looked out over the swaying grass which shimmered in the twilight sun. "That's beautiful."

Sango nodded and turned her head in time to hear what she thought was a whisper.

"Did you just hear that?" Sango asked, looking around and seeing only fireflies emerging from beneath the trees behind her.

"Hear what?" Kagome asked, making her way to the peculiar cluster of trees.

Sango shook her head.

"Never mind, it's probably nothing." she said, giving the trees behind her one last look before following her comrades through the grass and into the twilight, the breeze blowing softly and seemingly whispering_, 'Forever is up...'_

--T--


	5. ReInvention

CHAPTER FIVE

"Re-invention"

"Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled as he chased after the figure in front of him.

It was already bad enough that they had left the girls and Shippou behind, but Miroku still had no clue as to what Inuyasha was talking about. _What the hell does he mean 'it's here'?!_ He thought as he stared at the figure running helplessly ahead of him onto a field, glowing with the light of the evening sunset. He couldn't think of anything else that they were looking for or needed, at least not enough to create this kind of reaction from the hanyou.

They continued running until they rushed through an odd cluster of trees and into the woods again. Miroku was almost out of breath when Inuyasha suddenly stopped and turned, looking at Miroku who was bent over on a mossy floor gasping for breath.

"When did it become night?" Inuyasha asked as he looked up above him, trying to see through the thick canopy of oak trees.

Miroku sucked in a bit of air and looked around him, only just now noticing that it was in fact night and that the reason he hadn't noticed it until the was because of the light provided by the thousands of fireflies surrounding them and because of the white, glossy glow that was emanating from the sky above.

"What's happening Inuyasha?" he asked as he finally managed to stand up and wipe the sweat from his brow, examining the awesome and beautiful sight and feeling that seemed to surround them.

"I don't know, but I felt something odd back there and it's only just now quit." he said, his own brow furrowed and sweating from the humidity. _Wait..._

"Miroku, it hasn't rained recently has it?" Inuyasha asked, wiping his own brow only to have more of the water form on his head from the air surrounding them.

"No..." Miroku replied as they both stared at each other. "What's up there?"

Miroku was motioning towards what looked to be a very natural ending to the mossy path.

"Do you hear water?" Inuyasha asked as he turned to face the opening ahead of them, a patch of the white light illuminating one amber eyes softly.

Miroku nodded and followed as Inuyasha began walking towards the opening. As they walked towards the opening Miroku noted that the ground was completely covered in soft moss, and that the sound of water was growing allot louder. He wasn't sure what was happening exactly but he knew that he felt as though he was being drawn towards something and he couldn't quite contain his curiosity.

As they emerged from the woods Miroku noticed that the white light was coming from a full-moon overhead and that it was illuminating the water particles in the air and causing the small clearing before them to appear as though it was glowing. Inuyasha walked ahead and towards the brook that babbled several feet ahead of them and bent over looking at his reflection which was glowing in the moonlight.

"This is pretty." Inuyasha stated as he looked out to the other side of the brook where a small, bush laden strip sprawled out into the distance.

Miroku bent over and examined a large oak tree who's mossy roots looked almost perfect for sitting.

"What do you suppose this is about?" he asked as he surveyed the tree, noting the five, curved and odd holes on either sides of the tree.

Inuyasha's gaze re-focused as a shiny golden ring shimmered beneath the running water. He plunged his hands in the cool water and dug out the ring and turned around to face Miroku.

"I think... us." He said as he held out the golden ring and waited for the monk to examine it.

Miroku slowly took the ring from Inuyasha's hand and snapped it into place on his staff. The ring fell slowly into place and jingled a little bit as it nestled almost indistinguishably amongst the other rings. Miroku felt a chill run up his spine and turned to stare at Inuyasha, who in turn, stared back at him. The water in the background bubbling...

'_always...'_

--T--

A/N: Short, but more is on the way. I promise ;). Review pwease? :3


	6. Questions Among Answers

A/N: I cannot express my sorrow enough to you guys for not getting this out anywhere near the time I told you I would. Music and School has seriously take up my life and I've almost completely quit writing for any other purpose than music. I've come close to getting signed a couple of times with my music and It's been driving me forward even more. I hope you guys understand. I'll try to update this again much quicker than I have been doing but there are no guarantees here. I have had a breakthrough with the plot though so at least this time I know what I'm trying to shoot for. Either ways happy reading, as always comments are appreciated - I love hearing from every one of you.

CHAPTER SIX

"Questions Among Answers"

Inuyasha continued staring at the monk, his amber eyes focused intently on the golden ring. Miroku, who was also staring at the ring felt his mouth fall open partially.

"How could that have-?" he stammered

Inuyasha simply shook his head before shifting his gaze and allowing it to wander around the clearing. He had been having the strange sensation of familiarity ever since he laid eyes on the place and the ring made it all the worse. He had been trying to figure it out for a while before Miroku finally broke the silence again.

"Is this the beginning?" He asked?

Inuyasha looked up, his eyes revealing his puzzled thoughts. _Beginning? What did Miroku mean by that?_

"What are you talking about Miroku?" Inuyasha asked, trying to make sense of the statement.

"Do you remember those dreams we had a while back...?" he asked as he looked towards the hanyou, a serious expression on his face.

"But that was part of the curse wasn't it?" Inuyasha asked. "It wouldn't have any effect here."

Miroku pursed his lips and looked overhead at the moon which was full and shining brilliantly upon the glowing moss all around them.

"What if..." he trailed off his eyes hitting the stream, the moonlight reflecting back upon his face as though someone were shining light through a liquid diamond.

"What if what?" Inuyasha asked his impatience growing mildly as the questions swarmed in his head without any answers to fight them off.

Miroku chuckled and turned his gaze back to Inuyasha's before answering.

"What if this isn't the false reality?" He asked his violet eyes shining back like amethyst orbs.

Inuyasha felt the words slam into his skull as the full reality of the statement came to him.

"You mean-?" He stuttered.

"That the reality we just came from is not the real one". Miroku answered, cutting Inuyasha off mid-stammer.

Inuyasha's head was swimming but it suddenly clicked to him- suddenly every thing made sense: The dreams, the curse, the random black-outs. It was perfect – so perfect it seemed un-natural.

"What if it's not?" Inuyasha asked, lifting his head back up to face the monk from where it had fallen during his thoughts. "What if this really is the spell and we really do have to find our hearts and bring them back?"

Miroku frowned slightly and looked around him for a minute while the hanyou's words echoed in his head.

"I'd rather die with everything than go back there to...to that" He spoke, his voice trailing off as his eyes lifted to meet Inuyasha's own.

Inuyasha felt his heart thud as he stared into the eyes of his partner. It wasn't that he wanted to go back, if anything he never wanted to return, but he felt like he couldn't leave everything. He empathized wholly with the monk but he didn't want to let everyone else down – to let it die.

"If this is the true reality then how would we figure it out?" Inuyasha asked as he gazed into the monk's eyes.

Miroku thought for a moment, trailing his gaze back to the running water. Then it clicked...

"Naraku..." he spoke as he stared into the water. "Retrace our steps...find Naraku."

Inuyasha stared at the monk.

"Naraku's dead Miroku." He said, "in case you don't remember that."

Miroku shook his head.

"We have to remember it all and retrace our steps till the very end." He said as he looked around him. "And this is the first step..."

Miroku looked up at Inuyasha and met his look of confusion.

"What am I supposed to remember?" he asked blinking a little as his brow furrowed.

Miroku chuckled before walking towards the oak tree and motioning for Inuyasha to follow him, a motion Inuyasha followed.

"Sit." he said as he motioned to a small flat and mossy area in the crook of the tree.

"You know that only works when Kagome says that right?" He laughed.

Miroku chuckled and pointed to the base of the tree.

"Just sit down."

Inuyasha smiled and followed the monks request and sat down at the base of the tree.

"Now what?" he asked as the monk's eyes focused on the ground beside him.

"Reach your arms back and clutch the tree." he said as his gaze lifted to the side of the tree as though he were watching some play being acted out before him.

Inuyasha sighed but reached behind him and let his hands fall. It was perfectly normal until he felt his claws sink into a few holes on the side of the tree – holes that just happened to match the exact size and spacing of his fingers.

Inuyasha's mouth fell open slightly as he looked to his right, unable to see what was happening to his hands but trying to take it in nevertheless. He turned his head to ask what was going on but before he could answer the monk connected his lips to Inuyasha's.

Inuyasha felt himself nearly black out. Thousands of images started passing through his head as he felt himself sink his claws even further into the pre-made holes in the tree trunk he was clutching. Miroku placed his right hand on Inuyasha's shoulder and the images started slowing down before eventually Inuyasha felt himself relax as the final scene played out in his head.

A purple clad figure bent over a red clad figure, a single arm reaching forth and pulling the other figure in closer.

_His_ arm.

--T--


	7. Confide In Me

*(A/N: "A wild ghost appears!" Wild ghost uses write! It's Super effective!)

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Confide In Me"

When Inuyasha awoke their lips were still connected, as though only a small second had gone by – a moment locked in time replaying over and over. The kiss lasted for an eternity it seemed, and their lips occasionally parting before being blissfully embraced again. And then it was over. An Inuyasha felt more clear of mind and body than he recalled ever having before.

The shiver running through Inuyasha's body was unlike any other shiver he had felt before. It was pure and wholly encompassing every last ounce of his skin with a fire he could not begin to describe.

"So is this real?" Miroku asked staring into the eyes of his partner, still shivering slightly himself.

"I want it to be Miroku," Inuyasha said, biting his lip slightly and looking towards the glowing moon overhead as he tried to sort out the images in his mind still clear as daylight to him, "but I can't shake the feeling that it's not."

Miroku shook his head.

"Everything falls into place Inuyasha – Everything" he said.

Inuyasha shifted his gaze towards the monk, a few fireflies flashing in the distance behind Miroku's head. He sighed and shook his own head.

"I want it to be – therefore..." he said trailing off as his voice grew slightly quieter.

"Therefore what?" Miroku asked frowning a bit. "Therefore it must not be? There doesn't always have to be anger behind everything Inuyasha. Not everything you want falls apart."

Inuyasha felt a sadness welling up in him and the first few tears he had cried in a long time began to trickle down his cheeks.

"Let's just keep looking for the orb." He said staring at miroku, and fruitlessly attempting to wipe away the tears. "If we don't find anything then I promise you we'll stay."

Miroku smiled and used his thumb to wipe away the tears on the hanyou's cheeks.

"If we do find the orb Inuyasha, promise me one thing?" Miroku said his violet eyes sparkling as the hanyou's silent tears seemingly vanished at the presence of his thumb.

"What?" Inuyasha asked trying to steadily breathe through the emotional mass in his chest.

"That when we go back, we run..." he said, a triumph in his eyes like no other the hanyou had seen before.

"We run..." Inuyasha repeated in agreement, a silent handshake between the two taking place in a place of seemingly eternal night.

Inuyasha placed his hand on the earth beneath him and lifted himself up off of the ground to face the monk as he stood. The glow of the moon above casting an iridescent glow in their eyes and charging them as the both smiled.

"Let's go find the girls" Miroku said. "I'm sure they're worried by now."

Inuyasha nodded in agreement and they set off with one last glance at the place where all their dreams came true.

_'Sayounara...'_

-T-


	8. Breadth

*(A/N: opponent uses writers block. Ghost is unharmed. Ghost uses write! It's Super Effective!)

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Breadth"

When Inuyasha awoke he found himself in the campsite with the girls hovering over the nearby campfire. It took him a moment to realize that they had found them the night before walking forward just as Miroku had instructed them to do.

He yawned a bit and sat up stretching his arms and trailed his eyes around the ground until he found the monk's shape nearby lying on the ground – still sleeping no doubt. His eyes softened a little as he saw the figure and chuckled slightly as realized that their chosen sleeping positions seemed to be mysteriously drawing closer and closer together each night.

_'At this rate he'll wind up on top of me' _he though smiling a bit.

"Oh you're awake" A voice said snapping the hanyou out of his gaze, which was likely a good thing anyways.

"Yeah" Inuyasha said eying the place the voice came from. "You alright Sango?"

She smiled, standing up from he place at the fireside. "I'm not the one who went running off on a tangent last night."

"Yeah sorry about that, I thought there was a demon nearby" he said rubbing the back of his head.

Sango shrugged. "I guess we should be used to it by now anyways."

"You could at least tell us what's going on next time though" Kagome said staring at Inuyasha worriedly.

"Keh." Inuyasha muttered. "You and I both know I can't think clearly when I have that rushing through my blood."

Kagome frowned a bit and let her eyes trail back towards the food she was preparing.

Inuyasha stood up and stretched a bit more before wandering off towards the nearest brook to get washed up.

It turned out to be quite the nice day for traveling. A nice breakfast of something Kagome called 'tofu' was made and the weather was very mild with a cool breeze blowing occasionally from the east. Neither of the men had told miroku or sango where they were heading so when asked where they were heading, Miroku's answer came as something of a surprise the the girls.

"Why would we be heading back there?" Kagome asked.

"Just for a bit of a rest and a break." Miroku said chuckling. "We've been working pretty hard on the jewel shards so we should let ourselves take a bit of a break."

Sango had opened her mouth to say something but stopped as Miroku turned his head and smiled at her. Inuyasha felt almost jealous as he saw a blush come across her face.

'_If she ever found out about us...' _ Inuyasha thought and then shook his head. '_Not this time.' _ He silently confided. '_This is chance two... Not this time._'

He felt a small sense of triumph wash over him as that resolution came into his mind and walked easier for the rest of the day.

Eventually they rounded a corner of trees and found themselves staring at the familiar sight of a village.

"We're here." Miroku said shooting Inuyasha a look which said more than enough to Inuyasha who's eyes darted for a second to Kaede's building and back to Sango and Kagome who were for some reason staring at him.

"Of course we're here" He said putting on his best 'duh' face and walking forward with his usual air of arrogance, shooting Miroku another glance. His eyes softened as their brief gaze broke.

'_Good job Inuyasha' _he said to himself silently. '_Good job.'_

They were greeted with the usual air of uncertainty from the villagers who parted only for Kaede who came forward to greet them.

"Ahhh, Inuyasha and the gang!" she remarked smiling. "Long time no see – I trust ye not have any troubles in these parts?"

"We just came by to visit for a bit" Miroku smiled.

"As always you are welcomed here" she said chuckling. "There's an empty house on the edge of town if ye wish a place to stay."

"It would be an honor" Miroku said gratefully, flashing his usual triumphant manipulator aura.

As Kaede walked away there was another exchange of looks between Inuyasha and Miroku before they walked ahead towards the house Kaede had indicated.

On the way there Inuyasha found himself walking with the monk ahead and out of earshot of the others and seized the opportunity to exchange a few words with Miroku.

"How are we going to ask her anything without them knowing?" he asked Miroku while shooting a glance behind them at the girls and Shippou who had been unusually quiet ever since they had arrived in this world.

"I have no idea" He responded. "But I think if we explain ourselves as best we can then it should be alright."

Inuyasha's eyes darted to the ground. "You think we'll have to tell her about... you know – about us?"

Miroku smiled and strode along as the small cabin they were offered lay ahead of them.

"If we do have to," he said turning his head to face the hanyou, "Then I think that of all people, Kaede would be the one to trust with that info."

Inuyasha lifted his own gaze to meet the monks. His violet eyes were sparkling and soft and reflected the dying sunlight into Inuyasha's own. Inuyasha nodded slightly and sighed heavily as they reached the cabin.

"We'll go tonight then." he said turning to wait for the girls to catch up and faking every expression on his face.

"Tonight then..." Miroku said repeating the words and smiling softly in his usual way.

'_night's are never forever...'_

_-_T-


	9. Disarm those offguard

CHAPTER 9

"_**Disarm those off-guard"**_

The moon hung firmly in first quarter overhead by the time the two men had been able to make their excuses and exit the cabin. Moonlight washed over the ground and let Inuyasha easily see kaede's hut and the monk who sat outside of it. As Inuyasha approached, Miroku opened his eyes and smiled lightly as he pulled himself up off of the ground.

"It might come as a bit of a surprise Inuyasha," Miroku said as the hanyou neared, "but she's already expecting us."

Inuyasha felt his heart thud for a moment as the statement hit him but shook it off quickly and nodded, following the monk into the hut where Kaede sat smiling around a small center fire.

"Tea?" she asked motioning towards a kettle in the center of the fire and a few cups lying on the floor made of what appeared to be ancient oak.

"Certainly." Miroku responded with a smile before placing himself on the ground and motioning for Inuyasha to do the same.

Inuyasha's eyes darted towards the monk's own. His eyes were perfectly reflecting the fire in front of him and a lighthearted smile was playing on his lips. Inuyasha slowly felt his own mouth form into a smile as well. '_As long as he's here... I'm okay.'_ He thought as a small breeze from a a single window to his left ruffled his hair and washed his eyes with moonlight

"So..." Miroku started as Kaede handed him a cup of tea and began pouring Inuyasha's, "you said you knew why we've come?"

"Indeed monk. You seek many answers for the curse you've been cast under do ye not?" Kaede smiled while handing a slightly stunned Inuyasha his small, yet surprisingly ornate cup of tea.

"How do you-..." Inuyasha started but was quickly interrupted.

"Because this is the real reality 1 year prior to the curse Inuyasha." Kaede said, chuckling and smiling lightheartedly. "You see, unlike many a priestess I have the interesting ability to both see and read curses, and the second ye came here I knew what it was ye wanted – I could see the energy around ye."

Inuyasha stared at Kaede who gave a slight here cup of tea a small swirl and then turned his gaze to the monk whose face had become painted with a slightly more serious expression.

"Kaede – we came here to this reality to remedy the curse." Miroku said seriously.

"And ye came to the right place." Kaede stated plainly taking a sip of her own tea. "This is your reality – the one you came from."

"I don't understand you" Inuyasha said, feeling confusion turning to bitterness in his chest. "You're telling us that the place we came from is the false one – that this is the real one? How can that be so?"

"How can it not be so Inuyasha?" Kaede said puzzled. "Ye got thrown into an alternate reality as a curse, ye came back in order to remedy the curse and be where ye are now indefinitely."

"It can't be because..." Inuyasha started, feeling sadness build up in his chest as he looked to the fire. "because – It's what we wanted..."

Kaede smiled again and spoke.

"Inuyasha. Miroku – listen to me and listen to me well. Just because you want something, does not mean that it is impossible to happen. I understand ye are jaded – but please understand me when I say that I am not lying. Go an' see for yerselves."

Miroku narrowed his gaze towards Kaede and set his cup of tea down – the liquid inside catching the moonlight only slightly.

"What do you mean – see for ourselves?" he asked curiously, flashing his violet eyes in the light of the flames.

"The place where ye fought Naraku and were brought into contact with this curse still exists..." she said taking the cup of tea to her lips again. "In fact – it's the only place around here that isn't affected by the curse."

Miroku nodded his head and shifted his gaze to Inuyasha whose eyes were still focused heavily on the fire and a blank feeling playing upon his lips.

"Alright..." He said standing up. "We'll go visit it – maybe that's where our hearts are."

"You're hearts?" Kaede asked puzzled.

"Yeah, that's what Naraku took from us right?" Miroku answered.

"I think perhaps ye may find something of value there, or perhaps maybe just a new beginning." she answered chuckling lightly once more.

Miroku looked again to Inuyasha. His gaze transfixed upon the fire still and his tea untouched in front of him. '_Soon Inuyasha; I'll get us fixed soon...' _he thought.

_'But soon looms in the distance as never brings the night...'_

_-_T-


End file.
